Vegan Minestrone Soup

This vegan minestrone soup is made with veggies, white beans and pasta simmered in a flavourful, herby tomato broth. Easy to make and totally adaptable to your favourite seasonal veggies, this hearty and healthy soup is a satisfying meal year round!

Hearty vegetable soups like minestrone and vegetarian pasta fagioli are some of my favourite recipes to use up whatever vegetables I have lurking in the back of the fridge. Neither will be the same way twice and they’re both recipes you can make year round by simply changing out the vegetables for whatever is in season – it’ll be great no matter what!

That being said, I usually prefer to make my vegan minestrone soup in the summer as I consider zucchini to be an essential ingredient. Who says that hot soups are only for winter? Vegetable soups like Italian minestrone or this French soupe au pistou are ideal for mid to end of summer when your vegetable garden (if you’re lucky enough to have one) is brimming with the freshest and tastiest summer produce.

In addition to the vegetables, to make vegan minestrone soup you’ll need some kind of bean and some kind of pasta. It doesn’t matter if you use white beans or kidney beans and any kind of small pasta shape will do fine.

While you can boil the pasta directly in the soup, I usually prefer to boil it separately. This is simply because I normally make large batches in advance and have a ton of leftovers. If you leave the pasta in the soup, it will suck up all the broth and get soggy. I prefer to store the soup and the pasta separately and combine them in the serving dishes when the time comes. Of course if you’re going to eat it right away you can go ahead and cook the pasta in the soup.

Like I said, you can make this soup in large batches. This vegan minestrone soup recipe is easy to double or halve to feed more or less. I like to serve hearty soups like this with just some crusty bread and maybe a green salad on the side. When you’ve got simple, fresh ingredients what more do you need?

Serves 4 - 6

Vegan Minestrone Soup

This vegan minestrone soup is made with veggies, white beans and pasta simmered in a flavourful, herby tomato broth. Easy to make and totally adaptable to your favourite seasonal veggies, this hearty and healthy soup is a satisfying meal year round!

5 minPrep Time

25 minCook Time

30 minTotal Time

Save Recipe

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 small onion, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced or sliced

Half a medium zucchini, sliced

½ teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 can (14 oz / 400 grams) of diced tomatoes

3 - 4 cups (710 - 950 ml) vegetable stock

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

200 grams (7 oz) cooked white beans

150 grams (5.3 oz) small pasta

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper

Any fresh herb to garnish (optional)

Instructions

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add a splash of water (you can use oil if you prefer), the onion and garlic. Sautee until soft then add the carrot, celery, zucchini, oregano and bay leaf. Cook for a few minutes to allow the vegetables to soften.

Add the tomatoes, 3 cups (710 ml) of the vegetable stock and potato and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cover the pot. Simmer gently until the potato is cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot cook the pasta according to the package directions, drain and set aside. (I like to keep my pasta separate from the soup so that any leftovers don’t go mushy. You can also cook the pasta in the soup once the potato is cooked through if you’re going to be eating it right away).

Once the potato has cooked through, add the beans, soy sauce or salt and pepper. (I use soy sauce to replace the umami from the cheese we are leaving out, you can use salt if you prefer). If you prefer a thinner soup, add the extra cup of vegetable stock and give it another minute on the heat to warm.

To serve the soup, divide the pasta between your bowls and ladle the minestrone over top. Sprinkle with some fresh herbs if desired.